12 French Names That Haven't Crossed the Atlantic Yet

June 5, 2026

Names cross the Atlantic in waves. Liam (Irish) and Sophia (Italian-Greek) made the trip decades ago. Some of the very biggest names in France right now haven't crossed yet — they sit comfortably in the French top 50 and barely register in US data.

Here are twelve names hot in France today that could be the next wave.

Boys

1. Sacha — France's #14 boy name in 2024 (2,420 babies). Russian short form of Alexander, fully naturalised in French. Unranked in the US — fewer than five US births in 2024. Easy to spell, easy to say, but Americans aren't picking it up yet.
2. Marceau — France #15 (2,290). Pronounced "mar-SO". A surname-name with napoleonic-era resonance. Unranked in the US.
3. Gabin — France #19 (2,025). Pronounced "ga-BAN". The actor Jean Gabin made this name a French staple. Unranked in the US.
4. Malo — France #24 (1,830). A Breton saint's name. Two syllables, ends in 'o' — exactly the profile that usually travels well. Unranked in the US.
5. Gaspard — France #39 (1,245). One of the three Magi. Unranked in the US.
6. Côme — France #42 (1,215). Pronounced "COHM". Saint Côme (Cosmas) of the Cosmas-and-Damian pair. The accent will likely fall off when this crosses west, leaving "Come" — which may be a barrier.

Honourable mentions further down the French top 100: Léandre, Andrea (used for boys in France and Italy), Maël (US #1,057 but with a fast climb).

Girls

1. Ambre — France's #3 girl name in 2024 (2,815 babies). The French spelling of Amber. The US chart still uses plain "Amber" (#412), but the accent-and-final-e treatment is what makes Ambre feel modern in French. Unranked in the US.
2. Romy — France #7 (2,260). Romy Schneider's name, mid-century French film royalty. US #926 — registering, but barely.
3. Agathe — France #19 (1,845). Pronounced "ah-GAT". The saint Agatha in French dress. Unranked in the US, though Agatha (the English form) sits at #654 and has been climbing.
4. Victoire — France #28 (1,535). Pronounced "vik-TWAR" — "Victory". Unranked in the US. The English equivalent Victoria is at #14, so it's not the meaning that's missing, just the French form.
5. Jeanne — France #25 (1,635). Joan of Arc's name. US #4,311. This one is almost a statistical anomaly given how iconically Jeanne d'Arc looms in French history.
6. Romane — France #38 (1,185). The feminine of Romain. Two syllables, no accent issues. Unranked in the US.

What gets a name across?

Looking at French names that did cross — Charlotte, Emma, Chloe, Olivia, Genevieve — versus these that haven't, three patterns stand out:

1. Pronunciation has to be guessable from spelling. Charlotte, Chloe, Emma — all phonetically obvious to an English speaker. Côme, Marceau, Victoire all require a French ear to parse.
2. Accents don't make it. Names with é, è, ê tend to lose the accent on the way across (Adèle → Adele, Léonie → Leonie). Names where the accent carries the pronunciation (Côme, Agathe with silent e) struggle more.
3. A famous bearer accelerates the crossing. Cillian Murphy made Cillian work in English. Saoirse Ronan made Saoirse work. The French names on this list mostly lack a globally-famous current bearer in the English-speaking world.

If you're betting on the next French name to break out in the US, the candidates with the best phonetic luck are probably Sacha, Malo, Romy, and Ambre. We'll check back in 2030.

Data: INSEE 2024 (France) and SSA 2024 (United States) releases. US ranks reflect Anglicised spelling where one exists ("Adele" for "Adèle", "Mael" for "Maël"). "Unranked" means fewer than five US births that year.